Black Roses
by wereallie
Summary: When Sutton Brady's sister–Savannah–goes missing, she travels to New York when her family receives a fire message from the New York Institute saying they've had sighting of Savannah. Little does Sutton know, She's walking straight into a situation more complicated than she anticipated.
1. Forewarning

**_BLACK ROSES - A SHADOWHUNTER FANFICITON_**

 **SUMMERY:** Sutton and Savannah Brady-distant cousins to the Blackthorns of the Los Angeles Institute-grew up under the watchful eye of their mother and father, homed at the only Canadian Institute in Toronto, Ontario. Their lives were never put in danger, their family was always together and no one died or went missing. Their Life, to put it simply, was normal and uneventful. They were Canadian, the wall flowers of not only the mundane world, but also among the Nephilim. The accords held strong between their Downworlders and the Nephilim of Canada. They were all cordial to each other. Nothing ever happened.

But when Sutton Brady's sister goes missing and no one can find her, her world shatters. Parabatai, bound together until death or exile do part them, Sutton knows her sister is no longer of this world when she feels a sharp pain and burning sensation as her mark starts to fade to a dull silver upon her left shoulder. Soon enough reports start coming in from the New York Institute of rumours among the New York Downworlders-a Nephilim has forsaken her marks and angel blood for life among the night sky, moon, and stars.

Determined to find her sister, Sutton travels to New York to seek their help in locating her lost sister, but little does she know that she's walking into an even bigger situation than anticipated.

She may have lost a sister but along her journey, Sutton gains friends meant for a life time, and a new perspective on what it means to live as a Nephilim and together with the Downworlders.

* * *

 ** _CHAPTER ONE: Forewarning_**

 _Toronto, On_.

 _Canadian Institute_

 _1 weeks earlier_

The Canadian Shadowhunter Institute was located in the heart of downtown Toronto. To the mundane world, the Institute looked like a burnt down private school, but little did they know that under that glamour was the home of many Shadowhunters. The inside was decorated in dark wood panels, white marble accent pillars, and ash coloured tile floors. It was a more modern institute, only having been established a hundred and fifty years ago, in comparison to many of the Institutes around the world. It was a young institute but it was just as capable and authoritative as the other Institutes. However, there were fewer quarrels between the Canadian Institute and the Downworlders of Canada, the accords holding stronger.

Although there was little strife between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, the Shadowhunters still had their hands full with demons appearing and causing chaos.

"Over there! Hurry!" yelled a young dark haired Shadowhunter as she dashed across the vaulted rooftop of a nearby building.

The demon in question was a horrible sight to behold. It had more legs than one could count, and it's head turned a hundred and eighty degrees, much like an owl's head, but void of and fuzz or feathers. It had barbous spikes protruding from his spine that dripped demon ichor. However, this was not the original form the Shadowhunter had found it in. The demon had been prowling through the Toronto Zoo, shapeshifting into different animals and waiting for a mundane to approach.

"Tawn!" shouted the Shadowhunter's companion, another dark haired girl who looked nearly identical to the first. "Watch out!"

The first girl darted to her left as the demon spat neon glowing saliva at her. It whooshed past her head, nearly singing off the end of her long dark brown hair. "Shit," she said in exhale.

She sprang forward, Seraph blade shining in hand, and pivoted forward, lunging at the center of the demon. The blade struck the demon, sliding into its core with a sickening slurping sound. The demon quivered and let out an ear piercing screech before exploding into a cloud of sparks and demon ash.

The second Shadowhunter skidded to a halt, clapping the other girl on the shoulder. "Great job, Tawn. I was sure you were going to get a face full of demon goo. Then I'd have to save your ass and _iratz_ you too..."

Tawn let out a breathy laugh. "Like I haven't had to do that for you nearly every time we've gone out on a mission, Van."

"Well, it's you we're talking about... You never need an _iratz_ ," Van replied, irritation laced in her words. "I'm always the one falling behind."

Tawn extinguished her seraph blade and put it in it's holster. She put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Down worry Van. You're amazing. Everyone needs an iratz every once in awhile. Even Jonathan Shadowhunter needed them, which is why we have runes like that."

Van sighed. "I know, I just wish I was a bit better at everything-like you are."

Tawn grabbed her sister's hand. "I told you I'd help you. We can train-"

"You just don't get it," her sister snapped, cutting her off. "I'm not good at anything a Shadowhunter is suppose to be good at. I feel like I'm not meant to be nephilim..."

Tawn gasped. "You can't mean that, Savannah. We're all meant to be Shadowhunters, that's why we're nephilim. We're given the strength and skills to be the protectors of mundanes and to keep the accords in tact."

"Maybe you are, but I just don't think that's what's meant for me," Savannah said with a sigh.

"There are other path you could choose, maybe an Iron Sister?" Tawn pulled at Savannah's hand, "Let's go home. It's been a long hunt and some rest will do us good."

"Fine." Savannah let out a reluctant sigh and let herself be dragged away. Little did Sutton know this was only the beginning of a bigger problem her sister would soon be fighting...

 ** _*x*x*_**

 _The Present_

Sutton slipped through the heavyset doors of the Institute, heading out into the bustling city. She had a hunt to complete, a mission. The demon in question was a shape shifter, causing havoc on the general mundane public. The Institute had received reports from it's sensors of a demon slipping through the thick waves of people milling about the downtown core of Toronto, changing its face and body shape every few minutes. The reports came in stating that a demon was tricking Mundanes into thinking they were hallucinating and seeing duplicates of themselves.

This was an easy job for Sutton, one she'd done many times before, although normally her sister would accompany her. Usually they would both race through the thick of the downtown pedestrians or leaping from rooftop to rooftop. But for this particular mission Sutton was alone, her sister having gone to bed earlier the night before with pain and fatigue; and refused to come out of her room. So Sutton prowled across the various rooftops, searching for signs of her demon.

Even though she was use to having her sister for backup, a part of Sutton was happy to be by herself. Being alone meant that she didn't have to worry about anyone else, she didn't have to coordinate attacks or plans with anyone else; and she could do what she wanted, how she wanted, and when she wanted.

Her mind was suppose to be on the hunt, on the demon she needed to find and take care of, but Sutton couldn't help her mind from replaying the conversation that Savannah and her had had only a week earlier. What could she do to help her sister, Sutton wondered absentmindedly. They were only a year a part, more like twins than just regular siblings, so there had to be something she could do. Her sister was her best friend and they knew each other so well, so why couldn't she figure out a way to help her sister feel more confident in her role as a Shadowhunter?

A sudden scream from below pulled Sutton out from her thoughts and reminded her of the task at hand. She searched the crowd of Saturday shoppers and tried to locate the person whom the scream came from. Finally she noticed a mundane woman standing on the sidewalk, looking at a mirrored image of herself. People around here were whispering and pointing and questioning the mental state of the woman-a typical mundane thing to do.

Sutton descended down from the rooftop and quickly worked her away across the street, coming to stand behind the demon. "Hey, Asmautos! I thought I told you never to show your hideous face around here again. No one likes your tricks!"

The demon hissed as it spun around, giving the mundane a chance to turn and run. The glamour the demon dawned faded away, causing the woman to scream again with hysteria. The demon glanced down at Sutton hand, recognising the Seraph blade in her grip. Similar to the woman's, the demon let out a shrill screech and lunged for the young Shadowhunter, large purple talons glinting in the sunlight.

Sutton whispered breathily the name of her blade. " _Apphia_."

Right as Sutton was about to slash away at the demon, her phone started to ring in her pocket. The sudden noise momentarily distracted the Shadowhunter, leaving her open to the demon's attack. The purple talons buried themselves in her right shoulder and left side of her torso.

She screamed out in pain before trusting her Seraph blade deep into the chest of Asmautos. The demon screeched out a similar sound before bursting into a cloud of demon ash. Sutton coughed and her blade clattered to the ground, it's heavenly light extinguishing as it met the cold concrete. Blood splattered at her feet with little droplets sprinkling the toes of her black boots. . With a wipe of her sleeve against her blood stained lips, Sutton pulled out her phone and checked the notification.

 **Missed Call: Mother**  
1 minute ago

 **New Text Message: Mother**

 _Come home now. Your sister has disappeared!_

Sutton groaned and coughed again as she reached for her blade. Her mind began to swirl with thought after thought.

She had to get home.

She had to find her sister.

She had to get the demon poison out of her system.

Sutton staggered, trying to put one foot in front of the other, but she could feel the poison coursing through her veins. She could feel its grip getting tighter around her heart. With an agonizing scream, Sutton fell to her knees, gripping the front of her shirt, just above her heart. The last thought she had before everything went dark was of her sister:

 _I'm sorry Savannah, if only I had been a better sister, you'd-_

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _HEY GUYS HEYYYY  
I'm kinda sorta back.  
And because I'm trash and have been on a very big TMI/TID/Shadowhunter kick, I bring you my latest story and I'll probably forget about.  
But until then, please enjoy this new series.  
-Al_


	2. Goodbye, Sister

**Chapter 2** **:** **Goodbye, Sister**

Sutton slowly wandered through the thick, dark fog, her hand dragging across stone was her only form of guidance. Step. Step. Step. A faint light loomed in the distance, calling to her, drawing her forward inch by slow inch. Was she making progress or did she only think she was moving towards the call of the light? She couldn't tell.

Not only was her mind a groggy mess of swirling thoughts and darkness, but also she could feel something coursing through her, hidden just under her skin. Her veins felt hot and cold all at the same time, both sensations twirling and mixing together to make the ultimate irritation that Sutton could not fix. She tried to scratch it away, dig into her skin and draw the irritant out, but it was futile. The pain was all consuming and distracted from her travel through the dark.

Time passed at snail's pace. Nothing changed about Sutton's surroundings or her state of pain. She was stuck in the same dark tunnel and never getting closer to the light. Her thoughts started to swirl and darken. Never getting out of here, she thought dimly. She was going to die here, all alone...

"Sutton..." came a ghostly whisper, echoes of her sisters timid voices laced into the airy sound.

"Savannah?" Sutton shouted hysterically, looking all around her. "Where are you? Where have you gone? Why can't I find you?"

"Sutton," the voice whispered again, this time instead of sounding all around, the voice came from the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Savannah!" Sutton cried as she started running down the tunnel. Now she felt the tunnel moving quicker, pulling her towards the light. She burst into the pool of light and flinched, covering her eyes from the blinding brightness of the wall-less room.

Once her eye adjusted to the light, Sutton lowered her arm to find her sister standing in front of her, and she glanced around, taking in the new surroundings. They stood inside a glowing circle, a faint golden light filtering up and away from the edges of the circle. Beneath their feet was the rune for _parabatai_ -it too held a golden glow, although it pulsed in a way that every few seconds, the light would diminish.

While everything, including herself, was basked in a golden-almost heavenly-glow, the light did not touch her sister. Savannah stood facing Sutton, darkness engulfing her, with a smile that was oddly not a smile usually seen on her sister. Savannah looked the same, not signs of pain or hurt marked her skin, but there was something different, unfamiliar about the way her sister held herself. The sister standing in front of Sutton had a more elegant, coy and lethal feel to her outer disposition. There was calmness to her that had never been there before.

"Savannah, what's going on?" Sutton asked, attempting stepping closer. However, like the tunnel, her step didn't bring Sutton any closer to her desired target, she only met a invisible barrier. "I got a text that you-"

Savannah raised a finger to her lips. "The time is not for speaking, my sister, but for listening."

"Savannah, this isn't like you. Where-"

"You never listen do you?" Savannah questioned rhetorically, ending with a dramatic sigh.

"I've always listened to you Van! I was always there and willing to help you."

"Were you?" Savannah asked, brow rising inquisitively. "What about last week when I told you I didn't feel right as a Nephilim? What about then, huh?"

Sutton knew she had tried to support her sister then, offering her help and training. "I did-"

"No you didn't!" Savannah yelled. "You were my _parabatai_ , we were suppose to have a deeper bond than anyone else and yet you never knew the deepest secrets of my heart. All you did was tell me what you thought I should do, you didn't listen to what I was saying. I didn't want to be a Shadowhunter anymore…"

"You can't mean that… Nephilim… Shadowhunter… It's all in your blood."

"But it wasn't right," Savannah stressed, "and you didn't care enough to ask me what I actually wanted. So, I found it on my own…."

"What do you mean found it? What have you done?" Sutton held her arms out. "Come home, Van. I'll help you, do whatever you want."

Savannah laughed. "There's nothing to be done. What's done is done. This is the end, my sister."

"No, you don't mean that!"

Sutton tried to force her way forward but what ever was impeding her way, it was doing it's job annoyingly well. All Sutton could do was stand and watch as Savannah pulled out a nondescript dagger and place it to her left shoulder, over the _parabatai_ rune.

"Don't!" Sutton shouted, realizing exactly what was happening.

"You can't stop this, sister. It's already happening," Savannah replied as she pressed the blade deep into her skin.

Immediately as the blade sank into Savannah's skin, the same happened to Sutton. She screamed in pain, grabbing her right shoulder where her own rune was. The white shirt under Sutton's hand swelled with a warm liquid and quickly changed to a dark red. The pain was excruciating. They always said that the _parabatai_ rune was forever and for always and that it would feel like death upon you if that bond would break, and they were right. Sutton could feel the bond that connected her and Savannah as more than just sister start to shrivel and snag as her sister began to saw away at her skin and rune.

"We shall be no more, you and I. This is my final farewell. Be the good girl you always were and stay with the Clave. Don't go looking for me," Savannah warned, "Because you'll only find what you don't want to acknowledge…"

With Savannah's last words, the _parabatai_ rune under Sutton's feet burst into flames and sparks. Sutton tried to turn from the flames but she was rooted in spot, and could only stand in place as the flames engulfed her. Strangely, as the flames consumed Sutton's body, she felt the pain and hurt of the now destroyed parabatai rune start to fade, and a consuming bliss starting to wash over her.

With a sigh she gave into the flames and closed her eyes for the last time…

 **x*x*x**

Suttons gasped, sucking in a deep breath and shot upwards into a sitting position. She was in a familiar room-her own-and sitting around her was the worried looks of her parents and the emotionless one of a Silent Brother whom Sutton had never seen before.

Sutton's mother, Beryle Brady, grasped her daughter's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Honey, you're awake. Jed found you after we didn't hear from you. You were badly poisoned by a demon and we weren't sure if you were going to be okay..."

Sutton looked between each person, confusion knitting her brows together. "No I was just-"

"Honey, it's okay," her dad-Marcel Brady-said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're home and safe. Everything is alright."

"H-how long have I been like this?" Sutton asked. She could feel it in her limbs that she'd been bedridden for sometime. Things were numb and tingled with her movements.

" _The demon poison that was causing chaos to your vitals took some time to get rid of, and after that you didn't want to wake up_ ," answered the Silent Brother. " _You've been asleep for nearly a week…_ "

"That means that you found Savannah?" Sutton asked excitedly. A week was more than enough time for her family and the other Shadowhunters of the Toronto Institute to find Savannah. But a part of Sutton wondered why her sister wasn't at her bedside along with her parents, but she brushed it off that maybe she was healing her own wounds and was also bedridden. Sutton only started to worry when neither of her parents responded, only glanced at each other with devastatingly sad eyes.

Marcel was the first to reply. He took a deep breath and squeezed Sutton's hand before answering. "We haven't found your sister yet, Sutton. No one knows-"

"Then why aren't you out there now looking for her?" Sutton demanded, voice starting raise. She couldn't believe that her parents wouldn't be out looking for her younger sister. It was almost as if they already believed her to be gone forever. It was one thing for the Clave to give up-they always gave up when they didn't feel something was necessary anymore-but her parents were Savannah's parents too. They should have been out there pounding the streets looking for any thread of a trail they could find.

"We have been," Her mother replied, choking back a sob. "We've been out night and day looking for her. We've asked Downworlders if they've seen her but no one has."

"And, it doesn't look like Savannah was taken against her will," her father added.

"And all that makes it okay for you both to just give up?" Savannah asked.

" _No one's given up on you sister,_ " came the eerie voice of the Silent Brother into Sutton's mind. " _However, there's been a development that has made us reconsider our search…_ "

"And what's that?" Savannah snapped, seething with anger. How could her parents and the Clave just give up on her sisters. She was out there, maybe scared for her life. She didn't care that she'd nearly died from demon poison, her sister was missing and in Sutton's eyes, that was far more important than sitting bedside as they watched her sleep.

" _Your shoulder_ ," said the Silent Brother and pointed to her right shoulder. " _Your parabatai rune has faded, meaning your sister has gone down either of three paths: at worst the path of Death, hopefully the path of a Downworlder so your family can still contact her, or she's chosen to be apart of the Mundane world and you would no longer be able to contact her._ "

Sutton shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. "No. You're wrong." The room of light, the say her sister talked and moved, the flaming parabatai rune… it all had to be nothing more than a dream. She tried desperately to convince herself of that idea, but the silvery mark of a used-to-be-rune made it hard to do so.

To prove everyone wrong, Sutton pulled away her shirt. Where the dark rune once sat now was just a faint silvery tinge to Sutton's skin. "No… It was a dream," Sutton whispered, shaking her head. "She can't… I told her I'd help her."

"We all wanted to help your sister," Beryle added, "Your sister just didn't want to accept the help that was offered."

"She needed me and I just let her wallow in despair," Sutton cried, pulling her knees to her chest and burrowing her face in her lap. She could have stopped this if only she'd really listened, like Savannah had told her in her dream. "It's all my fault."

"It's no one's fault, Sutton," Marcel said, trying to console his daughter. "We all could have done so much more."

"She trusted me. I was her _parabatai_. I should have done something more…"

"We'll find her," Marcel promised. "Regardless of what path she's chosen. We'll find-"

Suddenly, the door to Sutton's room swung open and a frantic young Shadowhunter stepped inside the room. "I-I'm sorry to interrupt, but I figured you'd all like to read the fire message we received just now." The young boy handed Marcel the fire message.

His eyes quickly darted across the small page. With a gasp he looked up to his family. "By the Angel… The New York Institute has responded. Apparently a few of the young shadowhunters crossed paths with a downworlder and they think the descriptions they've received fit that of Savannah's."

"Thank Raziel," Beryle cried, her hands rising to whip away the new formed tears.

In a fury of movements, Sutton pulled her shirt back on and threw off her quilt. Planting her feet on the floor, heading towards the door. She only wobbled once as her legs adjusted to the full weight of herself once again.

"And where do you think you're going?" Marcel asked, stepping directly in Sutton's path.

"I'm going to New York to find my sister since you all gave up on her, so I'm going and you won't be able to stop me." Without another work, Sutton pushed passed her father and headed out into the bustling Institute, determined to find her sister before the day's end.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** _Huzzah! Here you go lovely ladies and gents. I've now written and posted nearly double of what I've done over the last year. What an amazing day. I'm starting to feel the creative juices flow again, so hopefully this means that this story will continue on a good note and I'll be able to update again so, but also that maybe I can get to my other stories too... One can only hope. Anyways, please comment/review since I need all the motivation I can get at this point and I love hearing from you guys!_

 _-Al_


	3. Alexander Lightwood & The Very Bad Week

**Chapter 3: Alexander Lightwood & The Very Bad Week**

Never had he been as annoyed and frustrated as he was now-no not just now, but lately. She was a menace to the institute and she was making Jace be more rebellious than usual! To say that Alexander Lightwood did not like Clary Fray-Fairchild-What-Ever-Her-Name-Was was an understatement. She was trouble, a pint sized, redhead bottle of trouble that only caused doom and more problems for the New York Institute.

To make things worse, he was fighting with Jace because of her. They were suppose to be _parabatai_ , bonded through the mystic power of the angels, but not right now. They could have been the furthest away a pair of people could be from being tightknit and supportive of each other. Alec hated it. Utterly hated it. Why couldn't Jace see how different he was acting? He was running around with his head in the clouds, following Clary blindly and getting entangled into the mess she was causing. He was blinded by the infatuation he had for Clary, but Alec wasn't. Not one bit.

Today was no different than any other days. Clary did something and now Alec and Jace weren't friendly with each other. But, since Alec was in charged he had to be diplomatic and mature, whereas Jace got to be childish and show his shitty attitude.

Alec was just coming down from the upstairs living area when another shadowhunter stopped him. "Alec, there's a message waiting for you."

"Who's it from?" he asked.

"The heads of the Canadian Institute in Toronto, Ontario was requesting aid," elaborated the Shadowhunter.

"Alright, I'll take a look at it." Alec accepted the fire message from him and looked it over.

 _Heads of Institutes_

 _We beg your help in this desperate time_

 _A young Nephilim-our daughter, Savannah-has disappeared earlier this morning_

 _There are currently no leads to her where abouts_

 _We're asking that you notify all Shadowhunters under your jurisdiction of her disappearance and watch carefully in your area for any signs or whispers of a Nephilim being held hostage or in distressed._

 _We've enclosed a photograph for your reference_

 _Thank Raziel and thank you greatly…_

 _ **-Marcel and Beryle Brady**_

 _ **Heads of the Toronto Institute**_

 _ **Toronto, On, Canada**_

Alec sighed. The work of _Nephili_ m was never finished. He would do what they'd request and informed the others, but he highly doubted a Shadowhunter from up in Canada would be hanging with the Downworlders of New York. But, it was their duty to investigate.

A half hour later Alec stood in front of the current members of the clave who were in residence at the New York Institute. He brought up the information provided by the Toronto and gave everyone a moment to observe the report. Finally he cleared his throat.

"As you all can see, a member from our northern institutes has gone missing. The heads of the institute ask that all shadowhunters, regardless of how far they may be from where this girl went missing, keep a lookout for any signs of her. Please take a good look at the photo here, she's the young girl on the right."

Alec indicated a quaint family photo from some unknown chirstmas that, Alec could only guess, was taken inside the Canadian Institute. The family was made of of a husband and wife, and their two daughters. The daughters looked nearly identical and he guessed that they could even be twins. The young girl in question sat on the right, nestled sweetly under her father's arm, but the sad smile was a stark contrast to the shining smiles of her family. Even though the picture, despite the forced smile, he could tell that the young girl had been san and full of melancholy.

With a inhale, Alec continued. "It's unlikely that the young girl would go this far if she left of her own accord, but if she was taken, then there might be some small trails of information around the city. If you hear or see anything, you report back to me on what that information is and I'll deliver it to them. However," Alec paused for a moment, giving everyone-especially Clary and Jace-a pointed look. "I do not want anyone to cause any trouble with the Downworlders. The Clave is not pleased with recent events and would like to keep the accords strong and uncompromised. So please tread with discretion. That's all."

The group disbursed as Alec exhaled with exhaustion. It was tiring being vaguely in charge. He enjoyed it but there was more work than desired and since Clary showed up, there was exponentially more than there used to be. And now that they all needed to keep a lookout for this young girl. He could only as so much of the shadowhunters so he hoped that this wasn't the last straw. He also hope that this missing girl didn't cause anymore problems with the upset Downworlders. That was the last thing he needed.

Through his peripherals, Alec could see a short red-head bob towards him. He rolled his eyes, his one eyebrow raising for extra emphasis of his disdain for the girl.

Clary came to stand beside Alec and peered up at him. "There's nothing more you can do to help this family?" she asked.

Alec shook his head. "No. We don't want to upset any of the Downworlders by insinuating that they stole a young girl from her room without so much as a cause. It would be unhelpful, so, keeping an ear out for any hints of a lean is the only thing we can do. Thanks to some people," he paused for a moment and gave her a more intense stare. "We have to tread lightly when it comes to the Downworlders. If this girl has been kidnapped by a Downworlder, we'll want her back unharmed and the best way to do that is to not point fingers. So, no, Clary, there is nothing more we can do to help."

With that, Alec turned and walked away, heading off to find some sort of distraction from his life. Briefly the thought of Magnus popped into his mind, but he pushed away the tempting thoughts and decided that the only relief to all distractions was to lose himself in some training, so he climbed the stairs to the upper levels of the Institute to change into training gear.

 _Thank goodness for training_ , Alec thought, _because I'd be crazy by now_.

 _ **x*x*x**_

A few days later Alec stood outside the entrance to the City of Bones in the dead of night, watching over Clary's mundane while she went to find her memories with the help of the Silent Brothers. It was like everyone thought that he had nothing better to do than play babysitter. And once again he was dragged into some sort of trouble because of Clary and Jace. He knew it was a mistake and a bad idea to bother the Brothers, they were only consulted with for the most serious of issues, and Clary's missing memories were not a serious issue.

With a bored expression, Alec did his duty and kept and eye on the annoying friend, who Alec was sure was second away from burning his fingers off with the open flame he was currently using to warm his hands. But, Alec didn't say anything because he was never told to keep the mundane safe from himself, just from the people hunting Clary. So, Alec smiled to himself and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for the moment that Simon did as he predicted.

"Shouldn't they be done by now? Or maybe I-one of you should go and check it out?"

Alec sighed and prayed that he'd go back to the open flame, at least it was keeping him quiet. "Jace has it covered…"

"Take my word for it, the Silent Brothers are very unpleasant," Izzy teased in her usual playful tone that meant she was the cat and the poor unfortunate fellow was in dead the mouse.

"Yeah, not helping."

Alec rolled his eyes and turned away. He could be doing literally anything else and he'd be having more fun than this. Memorizing and testing himself on the more complicated runes would be funner than watching the four-eyed human shake with fear over his little friend.

"What if Clary-"

Alec silently groaned. "It doesn't stop talking does it?"

"Is he always this charming?"

 _Heh_ , Alec thought to himself and ignored the others, _Like he'd know_ …

It was only when Izzy started to lead the mundane away did Alec step in. "Where you going?" he asked, grabbing Izzy's arm.

She gave him that sparkling smirk that she used when she was still that same cat. "What, it passes the time…" She replied with a more husky tone than Alec would have liked.

A part of him felt bad for the mundane. He didn't even know what kind of trouble he was getting into with Isabelle. All he saw was the beautiful girl that was talking to him, but little did he know it was a lioness buried underneath, ready to shred him to pieces. Alec loved his sister dearly but he knew how she liked to have fun and while he did feel bad for the human, Alec still didn't care enough to stop them. He watched as Izzy lead her pet back towards his junk of a van, leaving him behind, and he sighed a breath of relief. Finally, peace and quiet.

It couldn't have been anylonger than ten minutes when Clary and Jace came back from the Silent City. "What did you find out?" he asked.

"Valentine is Clary's father," Jace answered.

For a moment Alec was speechless and this mind ran at a thousand thoughts per minute as he tried to compute what Jace just revealed. It was like the world came crashing down and Alec could finally see Clary for what she was. "Wait… What? All this time we've had Valentine's daughter tagging along? She could be a spy for him!"

"Do you really thing I would have approved of my mother being kidnapped if I was Valentine's daughter? DO you really think I'd let the Silent Brothers dangle a sword over my head if I was just a spy?" shrieked Clary.

"Yeah, maybe I do…" Alec whispered under his breath.

"Alec that enough," Jace ordered, stepping protectively between Clary and him.

Suddenly Clary's expression changed and Alec wasn't sure if it was a look of horror or if she suddenly relieved herself in her pants. He hoped it was the former. "Where's Simon?" She asked hysterically. "You were suppose to watch him!"

"I told him to stay in the van," Izzy announced as she came up beside Alec, her sad eyes showing how sorry she felt about letting the mundane go missing. "I've search everywhere…"

"He's gone?" Clary shrieked again, still looking like her pants were full.

Alec rolled his eyes and inhaled deeply. _Here we go_ , he thought, _we now need to clean up the mundane mess_. Alec knew something like this was going to happen but he wished he hadn't been right.

"You were supposed to protect time!" Clary ran passed Izzy and headed back toward the shit van. "Simon!" she screamed, yelling loud enough that even the dead could hear her.

"These mundances are killing me," Jace commented as him, Alec, and Izzy followed after Clary.

"You and me both," Alec muttered in response but only received a very unhappy glance from Jace. Apparently only he could comment on how much work it was having mundanes around. Noted.

The van's passenger door and side sliding door both hung wide open, only to reveal that Simon was indeed not in the van where Izzy had left him. Clary clutched Simon's phone and headset to her chest, tears rolling down her cheeks as she called his name.

"IS THAT THE MUNDANE'S NAME?" shouted an echoey voice from behind everyone. They all turned to see three vampires-one male and two female vampires-standing on the cement support beams of the bridge they were under. Simon dangled helplessly from the hand of one of the female vampire on the right, who looked more like a male in a red dress Izzy was known to wear.

Simon's feet were tied haphazardly with rope and his all this shirts hung around his neck. He didn't look to be in much distress. Alec had to give it to him, for a mundane, the kid was handling everything quite well. He wasn't screaming with hysteria like Clary was, so he was slightly higher than her on Alec's list of people he tolerated.

Of course because of Clary and her friend they were getting the Vampire's involved. If Clary had just stayed inside the Institute, there would be no vampires and mundane hostage. Alec was at his wits end with Clary and all the trouble that came with her presence.

"Simon here is coming with us," announced the male vampire.

"He's not apart of this," Clary shouted.

Jace caught Clary as she dashed towards the vampires without thinking. "It would be my pleasure to kill you if you hurt him!" Jace threatened.

"Careful. We don't want to break the Accords," Alec warned.

"We're not going to hurt the cute mundane," cooed the female vampire to the left of the a moment Alec could have sworn that the brunette vampire was familiar but he had no vampire friends. "Just give us what we want, and he'll be unharmed."

"Your friend is right. Us Night Children have broken no Accord laws. We're simply proposing a trade," continued the male vampire. "The mundane here for the Mortal cup!"

"Or we could keep him. I like the ones that look scholarly," teased the same brunette. The male vampire shot her an annoyed glance to which all she did was smile sweetly at him.

The male turned back to Alec and everyone. "The clocks ticking everyone. Tick tock!" All three disappeared into the night, taking Simon with them

"SIMON!" cried Clary again, as if her voice could bring him back.

 **x*x*x**

Later they arrived back at the Institute, to which Alec was pleased. If they were in the Institute, Clary could do no more harm to the Accords and they'd be able to figure out a peaceful way on getting her human friend back. However, to Alec's annoyance, Clary was still going on about how as they sucked as shadowhunters because they hadn't protected her one friend. She'd been a Shadowhunter for all of a day and she thought she knew what it was like to protect people.

"We need to report this to the Clave," Alec told them. "They need to know about Clary and Valentine. It might help figure out what he's got planned."

"Fine, tell everyone I'm Valentine's daughter. But that doesn't help Simon. We need to get him back," Clary whined.

"It's all connected," said Jace, trying to calm Clary down. "The vampires want the mortal cup."

"Why?"

"No one, not the Clave, nor any of the Downworlders want Valentine to create an army loyal to only himself," Alec replied with dry interest. Half the time it was painful how much Clary didn't know about the Clave and being _Nephilim_ , and the other half was painful when she pretended she knew everything. "It also controls demons."

"The vampires proposed a trade. Simon for the cup," Jace reminded her.

"Great. The cup for Simon, all while Valentine wants the cup in exchange for my mother." Clary sighed, leaning against the brick wall, head drooping in defeat. "I should toss it in the air and let them fight each other for it…"

"So none of this matters to you? Just Simon and your mother?" Alec asked, fully offended that she could be so selfish.

"Of course it matters!" Clary snapped. "Listen. When you all rescued me, I put trust in you. Now you need to trust me because I can't be a Shadowhunter overnight. It takes time."

Izzy nodded and stepped towards Clary, putting a supportive arm around her. "It's true. She was raised as a mundane. We can't ask of her the same things we'd ask of someone who was raised in this world."

Alec's brows knitted together, "You too Iz? You're her spokesperson too?"

"I don't need a spokesperson. What I need is a plan and you're all going to help me." Clary squared her shoulders. "Besides, didn't all you see what I saw back there."

"Your mundane friend hanging like a bat?" Alec asked.

"No…" Clary headed back towards the control table and pulled up the photo from the meeting days earlier. She pointed to the sad brunette of the picture. "Her. She was there."

"I didn't see her," said Izzy.

Jace shook his head. "Neither did I."

"She was there. If you can't do anything for Simon right now, you have to at least help this family," Clary asked. "She was there. They need to know that she's alive."

"If she was there with those vampires, then she's a alive as the unwatered cactus in my room," said Alec. "If it was her then clearly she wasn't kidnapped. Besides, if they knew she was now apart of the Night Children, that would be devastating to them. The word of one person who's barely a Shadowhunter isn't much to go on."

"They asked for any tip-"

"It's not enough, so drop it." Alec locked glares with Clary, holding her gaze for what felt like minutes. "We can't go down there with _Seraph_ blades bruning or the vampires will see it as an act of war."

Clary pointed to the picture again. "We have the perfect excuse. You're following a lead. I'm sure the Clave would give you permission to go looking for the girl, so it would be two birds, one stone."

"We can't just go down there. The downworlders are slaves to their ambitions, we're not..."

"Alec," said Izzy. "You can't hate on all the downworlders."

"That's right. Seelies have their charms," Alec teased. It was well known that Izzy was friends and _friends_ with more than one Seelie. While Alec wasn't completely into the idea of canoodling with Downworlders, he didn't see his sister as any less just because she had fun with them.

"Seelies?" Clary asked.

"Like fairies. Pixies. Sprites. The fairfolk. Anyone with demon and angel blood. Its essentially a catch-all term," Jace explained.

"Izzy can tell you all about them," Alec interjected with a sideways glance to his sister. "She's got a thing."

"We've all got our things, dear brother," said Izzy coily and with a knowing smile. "Don't we?"

"I can't listen to this," Clary announce, sounding fed up and that she was better than everyone just because they weren't all worried about Simon the same way she was. It annoyed Alec how one-track-minded Clary could be. There was more at work than just saving her mundane. "I've got to go save Simon," she said as she turned and walked away.

"You can't go by yourself, Clary," Jace said, calling after her. "You'll only get Simon killed, and we won't be able to look into that missing girl. We need a complete plan and we'll help. Right Alec?"

Alec glanced between Jace and Clary. He rolled his eyes with disdain. "Yes. We'll figure it out. Just listen to us and stay here for now. Nothing good will come from you storming the Hotel Dumort by yourself right now."

Clary sighed and her shoulders visibly fell. She turned and walked over to the table, slamming her hand on top of it. "Fine. Help me, but while we're here planning other options, my bestfriend is in danger and suffering. Or is that something that only humans understand?"

Alec, Izzy, and Jace all shared a glance. Jace nodded. "Clary's right. We've got to get Simon now. Listen. The vamps made the first move by breaking the Accords and kidnapping the mundy. We go in, get him out safe and sound, find out what we can about this Canadian girl. Hopefully we'll bring both of them back and the Clave will thank us that they didn't have to lift a finger. Bing. Bang. Done."

Alec shook his head. "We can't just go in there unarmed. We need weapons to protect us and Clary's friend. We'll be going up against all the vampires living in that hotel."

"He has a name. It's Simon," Clary snapped with a dark glare in Alec's direction-which he pointedly ignored.

"I know where we can go," said Jace, a devious smile on his face that made Alec's stomach drop. Jace was a known rebel so Alec could only imagine where he had in mind to get these weapons, and Alec wasn't sure he really wanted to know where they were going.

Satisfied with the course of action, the four grabbed the few weapons they had from the Institute. Jace offered Clary a spare _Seraph_ blade while Izzy took her whip, and Alec grabbed his bow. Minutes later they hurried for the front door, darting out into the night to go save some silly mundane just because Clary wouldn't let it go. Alec had a bad feeling about this and if things went bad, he was definitely going to tell Clary 'told you so'.

 **x*x*x**

Thanks to Izzy and her Seelie contacts, hours later the her and Alec were creeping through the basement of the Hotel Dumort, being the 'distraction'. They just finished fighting off one of the vampires and all Izzy wanted to talk about the Alec's feelings and stuff. He didn't know what had gotten into her lately. To him this was not the appropriate time to be having a heart-to-heart. Alec wanted to be up above where Jace was, were there would most likely would be some sort of fight because Clary was involved. He wanted a fight, so what good was infiltrating a vampire lair if he was going to just be the distraction.

"Come on Alec," Izzy called after him. "You'll be happier and feel better if you weren't so repressed. Talk to me about it."

Alec tried to ignore Izzy and focus on his _parabatai_ bond. He wanted to know if Jace and Clary had found themselves in trouble and the _parabatai_ bond was the only way to do that. As Izzy drowned on, Alec began to feel the buzz coming down the bond that usually meant that Jace was in combat and was powered by the _Parabatai_ rune. "Iz, we got to head upstairs."

"Ah, bond kind of sensing going on?" Izzy asked as she came to flank Alec's left side.

"Yep. Exactly."

The pair climbed the back staircase, taking two steps at once. Alec followed the familiar buzz of Jace until they came to one of the upper floors-and found Jace and Clary in an altercation with two vampires. Acting quickly, Alec drew his bow and aimed at the vampire currently choking Clary. After a split second calculation, Alec changed the trajectory of his arrow and released. It zoomed towards the back wall, shattering a small hole into the side and letting the daylight in.

The vampire screeched as the sun began to burn them. Clary knocked her resultant into the light and immediately he burst into a cloud of embers, quickly disappearing after. Jace fumbled with his attacker but quickly regained the upperhand and tossed his vampire into the beam of sun.

All eyes were on Clary as she stood proudly before them. "I actually killed him," she whispered. Although she sounded unsure if she was actually happy about that fact or now.

Jace, as usual, beamed a very proud smile at her. "You're coming along nicely."

Clary tilted her chin upwards with pride. "I have a great teacher," she said, flirting as per usual, making Alec roll his eyes.

"Don't forget he was trying to kill you too, Clary," Izzy offered, smile beaming. "She did great."

Jace nodded. "She did. You should be proud."

Clary's bewildered look turned into a sad smile. "Thanks guys, but it's not about me. I'm here to find Simon and help that young girl. Now let's go."

At Clary's orders they all followed along, Clary in the front with Jace and Izzy following closely behind her, and Alec took up the rear position. It wasn't all that impressive that Clary managed to kill a vampire. Alec had done that at such a young age that seeing Clary, a fully grown human, kill one was pathetic. _Okay, maybe not that pathetic considering how she grew up,_ Alec thought, _but still pathetic_.

They raced through the dark backside tunnels of the hotel, searching for the mundane, when they burst through the open doorway to the penthouse apartment. The male vampire from earlier stood on the opposite side of the room, blade held against the mundane's neck, while the brunette from earlier lazed happily on the plush antique couch. Alec nocked his bow, and pointed it at the vampire.

"Ooo, look who has come to save the mundy, Rafe" said the brunette vampire, pointing at the others.

"Simon!"

Jace threw out his hand and held Clary back as she rushed towards the Vampire. "Don't. Storming him won't do Simon any good."

"Your friend is right, Clary Fairchild," purred the male-Rafe. "I've had more than enough of your friend here for one day, but don't give me a reason to cut his throat."

The brunette vampire nodded along as she popped a fresh ice cube of blood into her mouth. "He'll do it… don't push him."

"Put down the weapons," Rafe ordered.

Everyone shared a glance, and Alec returned his arrow to its quiver once it was silently agreed upon that they'd do as the vampire said.

Clary doused the light of the _Seraph_ blade in her hand before stepping forward toward the vampire's and Simon. "Simon, are you alright?"

"I wouldn't say al-"

"Shut up," ordered Rafe, pushing the blade closer to Simon's neck.

"He really doesn't shut up, does he?" pipped the brunette. Once again, like last night she received a dark glare from Rafe, and as she had done before, she gave him a dazzling smile, fangs fully in view.

"Everyone! Follow me." ordered Rafe. "NOW!"

Everyone slowly advanced towards the other side of the room, following Rafe and the prancing brunette. Clary came up beside Alec. "Alec, listen to me. That's her."

Alec glanced from Clary to the brunette vampire. "It can't be. She's so…"

"I'm sure Alec. We have to try taking her with us."

Alec shook her head. "It's daylight if you remember. We can't leave with her."

Clary went silent for a moment. "We'll we have to let her know her family is searching for her. Maybe if she knew that she'd tell them where she was."

"Just don't upset either of them if you want Simon to come with us safely."

"Down that way!" ordered Rafe, still clutching Simon to him.

Everyone slowly inched backwards towards the side exit, following the vampire's direction. Only once did Jace have to hold Clary back from trying to grab Simon away. "We don't want any trouble, just Simon back."

"What a coincidence," replied Rafe. "She wanted you!"

"Well here I am!"

"Shut up!" yelled Rafe again. "I said ' _she_ ' wanted it. I was never apart of this plan."

"I was…" chipped in the brunette vampire again.

"Go out that door or I'm going to kill him," threatened Rafe. Although Alec had a hunch that this vampire was pushing them closer and close to freedom instead of sticking to his word.

"Simon will die if we leave!" cried Clary.

Alec placed his hand on the metal door handle and pushed the heavy door open, daylight spilling in around him. Rafe and the brunette vampire screamed as even the smallest amount of sun started to sear their skin. He shoved Simon forward, right into Clary's open and waiting arms. Jace and the two others raced up the small metal steps and shoved through the door.

"Jace Wayland," called Rafe from behind the only form of shelter he could find, a metal drain pipe. "Don't forget who your friends…"

Clary paused in the doorway, the last to come through. "Savannah. Come with us or come to the Institute when it's dark. Your family is worried. They want to know you're okay."

There was no denial from the brunette, she didn't even ask if Clary was mistaken. All the girl did was spin on her heals and storm back up the dimly lit hallway, following in the wake of Rafe.

When Clary didn't get a response, Jace pulled her through the door. Clary flung herself at Simon, smushing herself against him. "You're safe…"

Simon hugged Clary back but quickly broke the hug, turning to Jace, Alec and Izzy. "You have to let the Brady's know about their daughter. Raphael kept calling her 'Van' which I can only guess is short for Savannah."

Alec pursed his lips. Great. Now more trouble was knocking at the proverbial door. "Fine. When we get back to the Institute."

 **x*x*x**

The group split up soon after rescuing Simon. Clary and Simon headed off to do their own thing, Jace went off to 'have some fun', and Alec and Izzy returned to the Institute.

"Keep your promise, big brother," warned Izzy. "That family deserves to know where their daughter is. I know I would if I was in their position…"

With that, Izzy took off for her own rooms, and Alec sighed as he watched her leave. She was right. It was up to Alec to inform the heads of the Toronto Institute that their daughter was now a vampire… Well… maybe he'd just let them know about the lead and they could decide if they wanted to find out what group of Downworlders she was now apart of.

Alec pulled out the necessary materials to write up a fire message. He quickly penned what he wanted and sent off the information. He wondered how long he had before someone of the family showed up because hopefully it wasn't too soon. He wasn't ready to deal with any more drama for a very long time.

 **x*x*x**

The next morning, the chimes of the Institute rang as a portal opened outside the Institutes wall. Alec, Jace, Clary and Izzy ran through the heavy set front doors to find the large portal spit out three people. They stood together, hands clasped tightly in each others hand. They unlinked hands as they stepped onto the front steps of the Institute, looking around at the grandeur of the cathedral that housed the Institute. It only took Alec a moment to recognize the family from the photo and Alec groaned inwardly.

"Great," he muttered.

It was the daughter who stepped forward first, a look of determination set upon her features. "Who of you know where my sister is?" she demanded without even a 'hello' first.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 _Hey everyone I hope you liked this update. I just wanted to put it out there that while this fic will follow the happenings of the show, I hope you guys won't mind if I condense or shorten some scenes (though I think I've failed on that part). I figured that if you wanted to re-experience the show all over again word-for-word, you'd just go watch the show. I did my best to stay true to the show and the particular episode written for, but sometimes things change. Anyways, as said, I hope you all enjoyed it, and let me know if you did (or even what you didn't)._

 _P.S. I also thought I was going to start the fic later into the first season, but whoops here we are and it's only the second ep..._

 _-A_


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